Denial
by PotterPhantomKitten
Summary: "You're an idiot. You shouldn't be feeling this way. But—no, you can't be attracted to her. You can't." The feelings and dreams that come to Anna aren't exactly wanted. How can something that feels so wrong when she's awake feel so right when she dreams? And will her waking mind come to accept that her feelings might be more than a girl-crush? Modern!College!AU, Unrelated!Elsanna.
1. Dreams

**A/N: So, I've become super obsessed with Frozen recently, and decided to start writing Frozen fanfics to add to my fanfic list! So... I'm writing this... and I don't entirely know _why_.**

**I told myself I'd never write Elsanna, unrelated or not, but I am.**

**I told myself I don't _ship_ Elsanna, unrelated or not_._ (well, certainly not related Elsanna)  
**

**And yet I've had dreams involving unrelated-Elsanna... **

***headdesk* What is _wrong_ with me? **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen or "Down by the Sally Gardens".**

* * *

Anna woke to the silence of the early morning. She didn't even have to fully open her eyes to know it was dark outside and she shouldn't be awake for another few hours. She didn't have a test to study for, no 10-page paper that she literally procrastinated on until the last day before it was due... why the _heck_ was she up?

_Come_ on _brain, why did you wake me up so early?_ she thought blearily to herself, scolding her body's automatic clock as if it were a misbehaving child. _It's probably not even 5... _She didn't want to check, though. She knew that the moment she opened her eyes enough to let light properly pour in, she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep very easily. Then she'd certainly be even more tired than she already felt.

She knew what had woken her up, though. The dreams. She had been having them again.

The dreams had felt so great in their duration, but upon waking and the reality of the dream really hit her, she ended up wanting to kick herself or knock some sense into her emotions. They were toying with her like a cat plays with a mouse... they had been for the past few nights. Her dreams were nothing but her and the other girl, just the two of them together...

Anna shivered, pulling the covers up over herself, trying to push the somewhat sensual dream out of her mind. She wasn't entirely sure if she was shivering from cold or a pleasured wanting. She'd much rather have the former be the reality than admitting the latter, even though a part of her said that the latter really was the true source of the reaction.

And she hated her mind for it.

With a resigned sigh, she buried herself under the covers and allowed her blue-green eyes to close, drifting off into slumber once again. She hoped that the dreams wouldn't come back, that for once this week she could have a dream that was normal by her standards.

Her wish was not granted.

_It was much the same as the others, this dream. The whispers of her name, the caring caresses, the other girl gently kissing her neck as Anna rest her head on the other's chest. It felt so comfortable, so relaxing... _

_In her waking hours, she kept telling herself it was wrong. It was repulsive to feel this way toward another girl. And yet in the dreams all those concerns seemed to melt away, as if she forgot what her conscious self said and thought on a regular basis. She was just content being there, snuggling closer to the platinum-blonde-haired young woman in question. Even thinking the girl's name gave Anna pleasurable shivers down her spine. _

_Elsa. _

_"Are you cold?" _

_Anna shifted on her side slightly, not wanting to leave her comfortable position as Elsa stroked her hair. "Mmm hmm..." _

_Elsa's grip gently tightened around her, letting the younger girl relax in her warm embrace— _

"Oy, Anna! You going to sleep through your first class or what?"

The voice of her Scottish friend Merida permeating the dream caused Anna to wake with a start, her flailing hand nearly smacking her roommate in the face. She prayed frantically that she hadn't been mumbling in her sleep (as she did on occasion according to Merida). Mumbling meant hearing the pleasured murmurs. The whispers of her name in Elsa's alluring voice. The mumbles of Elsa's name as she comfortably reveled in the warmth of the other...

The conflicted girl was so lost in her forbidden thoughts that she almost didn't see Merida waving her hand in front of her face and saying something frantically to her. She shook her head into focus. "Wait, what?"

"Doesn't your first class start at 8:30?"

_8:30, yes, Geometry._ Anna blinked her eyes and glanced over at the time brightly illuminated on her phone, taunting her.

"8:25?! SHOOT! I have only 5 minutes!" Any sleepiness that Anna might have felt was immediately abandoned for frantically looking for proper clothes to change into, prompting Merida to keep her distance lest she risk being hit with something. "Why didn't you wake me up?!"

"Why didn't _you_ set your alarm?" Merida joked with a teasing smirk. "You usually do."

"I-I know," Anna mumbled, flabbergasted as she picked out a forest-green long-sleeved shirt and black pants. "I guess I just got sidetracked and forgot!" She hurried into the bathroom and slammed the door, trying to ignore Merida's amused chuckles.

**-0-0-0-**

Anna didn't know how she made it through Geometry that morning.

The recipient of her (unwanted) affection was Elsa Andersen, a senior with a major in Theater and a minor in Mathematics. Thanks to them not having assigned seats as had been prevalent in high school, the students could sit wherever they wanted.

Elsa happened to come in late that day (which got her a bit of a scolding from Professor Weselton), so she took the only seat available to her at the time. Which happened to be the one right next to Anna.

Anna kept having say a mantra to herself to not look at Elsa and focus her attention on the board, which became increasingly hard to do as time went on.

But now there was nothing to worry about. What mattered now was that it was 11:00am and Anna Summers needed something to eat before she keeled over.

After obtaining a brunch of scrambled eggs and sausage, with milk and a cup of delicious chocolate pudding on the side, the teen scoured the mess hall to look for a place to sit, only to freeze up cold. At one of the long tables closer to the mess hall's windows, there was a single person sitting on the far end. The very one who had been at the forefront of Anna's mind for the past few nights, never letting up.

It was Elsa.

Anna swallowed, hurriedly sitting down a few seats away down the table before Elsa could see her and strike up what would like be a very awkward conversation on Anna's part. Luckily, Elsa took no notice of the younger girl staring at her and instead continued eating her own scrambled eggs, neatly rather than the messier way Anna did, which her friend Kristoff Bjorgman called "eating like a hungry wolf".

Quickly turning away from Elsa and praying that she hadn't noticed, Anna was left alone with her food and her thoughts. And right now, as she quickly ate her food to try to distract herself from the fact that Elsa was sitting right there, her thoughts weren't exactly in agreement. _You're an _idiot_. You shouldn't be feeling this way. But—no, you _can't_ be attracted to her. You **can't**._

It was times like this that Anna wished that the voices in her head would just shut up. She sat morosely at the cafeteria table, waving her hand around her head as if trying to knock away a bothersome fly. _You think I don't know that? _She wasn't sure which side of her brain she was arguing with, though: the side that felt an affection for the older girl, or the side of her that was disgusted at the mere possibility of attraction.

Or maybe it was a confusing mix of both.

_What would I even _say_ to her, anyway?_ Anna thought in a slight mental tone of distress, averting her eyes from Elsa. _'Hey, I've had dreams about you for the past several nights and I think you're really pretty and funny and awesome but I don't like you like that, I swear'?_

Anna felt a blush begin to creep up on her cheeks at the mere thought of the other girl, trying to shake her focus on the object of her affection and instead focus on eating her cup of chocolate pudding. But the spoon merely hovered in the space between her mouth and the pudding cup as Anna's thoughts began to drift toward the dreams that had stayed with her the past couple nights. The dreams that she loved during them and was disgusted by afterward.

_Elsa wrapping her slender arms around Anna's body, holding her close and saying she'd keep her warm. _

_The gentle and delicate touch of Elsa's fingers as she stroked Anna's hair and face with the care one would have toward a fragile glass figure._

_The comforting yet dizzying sensation of Elsa's lips on hers that even now caused Anna to shudder in a hazy bliss of unwanted longing... _

"Hello, Earth to Anna? Come in, Anna, do you read?"

The perplexed voice of her friend shook Anna out of her dreamy stupor, causing the spoon she had been holding to clatter on the table. By the time Anna was physically and mentally brought back into the reality of where she was, the "5-second rule" was long-since up and the spoonful of pudding was rendered uneatable. She blinked her eyes into focus to see her friend Kristoff staring at her, steak and a cup of fruit present on his tray. "Oh, h-hey, Kristoff..."

The young man sitting opposite her chuckled, brushing a few overhanging bangs of blond hair out of his face. "Good, I was beginning to think you were dozing off or something!" He tilted his head, curious as Anna began to rub at her eyelids to shake herself awake. "I've never seen you so tired that you've barely even touched your pudding, usually you've eaten about three cups before I can even blink!" His mouth turned up slightly at the thought, knowing full well about Anna's near-addiction to chocolate. If she wasn't focused on eating that when it was right in front of her, something must be up. "Rough night?"

"You... you could say that," Anna managed while fighting through a yawn, glancing down at her dirty spoon with disappointment etched on her face. Looking back and forth from Elsa to the pudding in such a quick glance it was almost instantaneous, Anna scrunched up her face and placed her fist on the wooden table in frustration. "Ugh, darn it!"

"Don't worry, I'll get you another one," Kristoff offered kindly, leaving his tray behind to retrieve another utensil for his tired companion. "I was going to get some more food for myself, anyway.

Knowing that Kristoff was pretty perceptive of her feelings, Anna took the opportunity to mull over the forbidden territory that her mind kept drifting to that was her true cause for frustration (though the spilled chocolate wasn't making it any better). As much as she tried to stop her "stupid brain", Anna couldn't help her thoughts turning once again toward the real reason for her irritation. _Darn it, _darn it_! Why can't I stop thinking about her?! I shouldn't, I _know_ I shouldn't, but _ugh_, she's just so... nice, talented, pretty?... No, no, pretty is _waaayyy_ too simple a term for her. _

Anna wanted to kick herself for the thoughts swarming through her mind, whirling like a stormy whirlpool. The mental image of Elsa next to her, kissing her, speaking with that soft voice of hers... a dreamy stare began to cross Anna's face as she started to zone out, unwillingly going into her fantasies...

It took her a moment to realize that Elsa had turned to notice the other girl staring, their eyes meeting.

_Oh no._

Hoping desperately to save face, Anna straightened her posture and gave a shy little wave, praying that her face wouldn't betray her by blushing. "G-Good morning, E-Elsa!"

Elsa turned her mouth up a little in return, raising her hand in a half-wave of acknowledgement. "Hi, Anna." Her amused expression turned to a slight frown as she leaned over to look closely at Anna, as if inspecting something.

The redhead mentally screamed at her face not to betray her. _Oh crap, she's staring, she's staring, don't blush, don't blush, don't—_

"You look tired."

_Whew_. Anna nodded, trying not to let the relief show on her face. "Y-Yeah." She rubbed her eyes again, trying to wake herself up further and have the darkness momentarily distract her from the fact that Elsa was staring at her. "I didn't get much sleep last night."

At least she didn't have to lie about that.

"I've had a few _crazy_ dreams lately," she added absent-mindedly, her mind briefly returning to said dreams as she momentarily forgot just who it was she was admitting it to.

"What kind of crazy dreams?"

Anna's eyes widened in horror as she resisted the urge to facepalm when she realized what she had just said. She was blushing bright red and she knew it, her face betraying her thoughts, her eyes looking at Elsa like a deer in headlights. _Say something, you idiot!_

"I... I-I.." _Focus, Anna, focus!_ "Just had some crazy dreams about g-geometry! Y-Yeah, what we're doing in geometry..."

Another mental facepalm. _Smooth, Anna. Veeerrryyy smooth._

Elsa arched her brow, waiting for the other girl to continue.

"Well, ya see, I had this dream that a bunch of qua... quadril..." She frantically tried to remember what those accursed shapes were called, but at least it was sparing her from blurting out unwanted sentences.

"Quadrilaterals?" Elsa offered helpfully, looking like she was trying not to laugh.

"Yeah, that. So anyway, these quadrilaterals were chasing me in a maze and they were telling me that I was going to fail my test if I didn't know every single fact of Euclidean geometry." She realized immediately that that didn't sound quite bizarre enough, so she hurriedly added something else. "And then when I told them that was pretty much impossible, they trapped me in a box and it transported me to that one level in _Super Mario Galaxy_ where you have to dodge all the electrical fence thingies while you're in a bubble or you die."

_Hey, you with the confused emotions! New goal, say something_ without _babbling!_

Luckily, Elsa burst out laughing, her eyes appearing to sparkle in amusement.

_Goodness gracious, I love her laugh... I mean, it's cute, I mean, it's a nice laugh, I mean... ugh! _

"Well, don't try to fall asleep during classes, okay?" the older girl chuckled before turning back to her own brunch.

"... You like her don't you?"

"W-What?" Anna glanced up to realize that Kristoff had returned, placing a fresh spoon on her tray. The bemused smirk on his face made it clear that yes, he had seen the way Anna looked at Elsa, and yes, he guessed that she was nervous.

"N-No I don't!" Anna twiddled her thumbs, her eyes glancing around as she tried to think of some explanation, relieved that Elsa hadn't noticed. "I just think she's really cool, that's all. I mean, she's decently friendly to me, she's great at geometry, she's pretty..."

_Don't you mean gorgeous? _

_Shut up brain, trying to focus here._

"By the look on your face, I think you mean 'gorgeous', right?"

_See, Kristoff agrees! _

_Look brain, I _really_ don't need this right now. _ If her conscience had a physical form like Jimminy Cricket, she'd smack it.

Anna attempted to put on her best "I-am-annoyed-with-you" face, lowering her voice and occasionally glancing over to make sure Elsa wouldn't hear. "Look, if anything, it's..." She paused. _What's that term again where a straight girl is a little attracted to another girl?_ "It's a girl crush! _Juuussstt_ a girl crush, nothing more than that!" She folded her arms and attempted to look triumphant. _So there, voice-in-my-head._

Kristoff looked at her skeptically. "Have you been having dreams about her?"

"N-No," Anna said, averting her eyes. _Crap, you just gave yourself away by _looking_ away!_

"The look on your face seems to disagree with your words," Kristoff pointed out with a knowing expression. "Seems like this is a little more than just a 'girl crush'."

"But, I'm..." Anna sighed, lowering her head onto the table and covering her face up with her arms. "I need help," she mumbled, her voice muffled by her arms and the table.

Kristoff laughed lightly. "You don't need help." He reached over and placed a hand on her's, trying to offer a little comfort. "You're just struggling with your emotions right now. A lot of girls go through it."

Anna rolled her eyes, glancing up at him but not moving her head or arms. "What, are you some kind of love expert?"

"No, but I have members of my family who are." Kristoff said with a sheepish grin.

"You're impossible, Bjorgman."

"Oh, going by last names now, are we, Summers?" Kristoff turned to his own fruit cup, munching on a carrot as he removed his hand from Anna's. "Well, point is, I'm not exactly the best at relationship advice."

The redhead sighed, hurriedly finishing her pudding and trying as hard as she could to avoid looking over at Elsa. "I-I have to go."

Kristoff looked at his friend as she picked up her tray and went over to throw her leftovers in the garbage. "Hey, feisty-pants, don't you have free time until 1:30?"

"Y-Yeah, see you later, Kristoff..."

"Where you going?"

"The Gardens."

And she hurried out of the mess hall building leaving a perplexed Kristoff—and, unbeknownst to her, a certain puzzled blue-eyed young woman—behind.

**-0-0-0-**

Arendelle University was a decent-sized campus as far as colleges went. It had various buildings for each of the departments, a small cafe, and the large mess hall that reminded more than a few of its students of an army base. But one notable feature of the campus was that on the far left side of the campus, close to the main English department building, a well-trimmed garden was kept. With its peaceful, more secluded atmosphere, the Gardens were a pretty beautiful place to relax.

Or, like Anna in that moment, for people who wanted to be alone.

Anna stepped through the flower-covered archway and took a glance around at the scenery around her. There was an array of trees and hedges which appeared to split the garden into sections, giving an occasional maze-like appearance. The assorted patches of carefully arranged flowers seemed to have a pattern to them, more based on shape and color-coordination than anything else. In the center, there was a small path of spiraling brick that led to a center which no one had any idea what its purpose was. Some said it was supposed to be for a fountain that never got built. Some other students said it was supposed to be a brick imitation of those circular mazes that you have to solve in one minute.

Either way, the fact that it wasn't much of hangout spot was fine enough for Anna. She sat down by patches of dandelions, leaning against a thick tree trunk and staring up at the sky. Even the comforting silence of the garden couldn't distract her from the thoughts swirling around and around in her head. The dreams, the unease at having them, the shivers she unwillingly got when she even thought about the light blonde-haired, blue-eyed senior...

Anna began to sing quietly to herself, her voice echoing in the empty gardens, only the trees, hedges, and flowers there to hear her song.

_Down by the Sally Gardens, _

_My love and I did meet. _

_She passed the Sally Gardens, _

_With little snow white feet... _

As Anna sang, she closed her eyes, focusing on the words, the melody, and the images of the platinum-blonde young woman who had completely and unwillingly captivated her heart. Everything about the song reminded her of Elsa as she let her voice project itself throughout the gardens. A soft breeze began to blow, gentle brushing against her face. A touch that reminded her all too much of Elsa in the sensual dreams.

_She bid me take love easy,_

_As the leaves grow on the tree,_

_But I, being young and foolish,_

_With her did not agree. _

She hated her brain and voice right then. Hated the passion and sadness that her voice carried as her volume rose and her mind began to drift once more to the dreams that came to her as she slept. She could feel her throat tightening, the conflicting emotions swirling around in her head and heart. Every word was beginning to be more and more of a struggle to sing, and she hated herself for it.

_In a field by the river, _

_My love and I did stand. _

_And on my leaning shoulder, _

_She laid her snow white hand. _

Anna clenched her fists, leaning over by a patch of flowers and turning her gaze upward at the cloudy skies overhead. She picked a small dandelion growing from the ground, the gentle breeze as well as her singing causing a few of the seeds to fly off into the air as she stood.

_She bid me take life easy, _

_As the grass grows on the weirs. _

_But I was young and foolish, _

_And now I'm full of tears. _

As Anna felt a few tears fall down her face as she sang the last line, she was unaware of a quiet voice echoing her words and a pair of ice blue eyes gazing sadly at her from the nearby archway. By the time the redhead looked over upon turning to leave, they were gone.

* * *

**A/N: Wow, for never having written (or until recently, ever thought about writing) Elsanna, this was actually a good deal longer than I had anticipated. And yeah, about those dreams I mentioned? I _was_ Anna in those dreams... so I am getting this out there as a way to kind-of vent, hoping the dreams will stop. Either that or they'll continue with more fervency, I don't know... **

**As a side note, that winding brick thing I mentioned wasn't something I made up, it's actually from the school I attended when I was in 8th grade. I never did find out what it was there for.**

**I intended this to be a one-shot, though after thinking it over I continued it. So, uh, review! :)**


	2. Acting For Two

**A/N: 4 reviews, 12 favorites and 16 followers, which are almost like reviews unspoken, indicating the reader will be posted on updates. **

**I've had the dreams for over a week now, and they don't seem to be stopping. Thus, more ideas. **

**My mind has spoken. I'm continuing this. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen, Macbeth, or any references to songs/plays/movies/games that may be in this fic later. The plot, however, is mine.**

* * *

After thinking it over, the lovesick redhead decided to stay in the gardens for a while. _Some solitude and time to think will do me good._

Her emotions and thoughts weren't exactly making it easy.

Anna kept trying to relax, to enjoy the warm spring breeze that caused the flowering plants to sway as if riding on the remnants of her somber tune. But even the refreshing sunshine couldn't ease her confusion. If anything they only made it worse, with only her always-warring sides of her brain mentally bickering.

_Am I really straight, or just in denial? _

_Is what I feel for Elsa admiration or true love? _

She looked upward at the clouds, the sparse but puffy white shapes lazily floating by.

_It has to be just a girl crush. It _has_ to be._

_...But what if it's really something _deeper_? Something _beyond_ admiration. _

_But— _

_Those kind of dreams you've been having _aren't_ just admiration, you know. _

"_Ugh!_" Anna rest her arms on her knees, propping her head up as if she were resting it on the table again. This attempt at relaxation wasn't working. Too many thoughts crowding in her head, trying to get their turn to voice yet another opinion on Anna's perplexing emotions.

_I need a distraction,_ she thought to herself. And as much as she figured that company would be better than just the flowers and her thoughts, she didn't want to risk it. There was a chance that she might run into the certain young woman she had been thinking about lately.

So for the moment, she did the only thing that she could think of in her time without being in the proximity of other students: reading. Mores specifically, reading the play she was _supposed_ to have studied for today, but she had instead spent her evening playing on her Nintendo DS and fretting about her "issue".

Setting all her books down aside from the dark blue book which bore the title _Macbeth_ in shiny gold lettering, Anna thumbed through the book in an attempt to find the appropriate pages that they were set to read that day. Silently cursing the fact that she hadn't bent the page or put a sticky note at the right spot like some other students did, she eventually was able to locate the right psaage in Act 2 Scene 2. The freshman's blue-green eyes hastily scanned the play's text, attempting to immerse herself in the world that the words on the page depicted. Key words being 'attempting to'. The odd pronunciations weren't helping mentally. _Is it possible to get tongue-tied while reading in your head?_

Deciding to give it a try reading the words aloud, figuring that that would actually place her focus on doing something in particular, Anna cleared her throat to speak in her best voice that she thought Lady Macbeth would sound like.

"_That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold;_  
_What hath quench'd them hath given me fire. Hark! Peace!_  
_It was the owl that shriek'd, the fatal bellman,_  
_Which gives the stern'st good-night. He is about it:_  
_The doors are open; and the surfeited grooms_  
_Do mock their charge with snores. I have drugg'd their possets,_  
_That death and nature do contend about them,_  
_Whether they live or die._"

Each line was accompanied with a dramatic flourish (well, as much could be managed while sitting down and leaning against a tree) and an attempt at an evil-sounding Scottish accent. Reaching Macbeth's line and having no one else to practice with, she attempted to lower her voice to sound more like a guy, making motions with one hand as if she was looking for someone.

"_Who's there? what, ho!_"

Anna returned to her overly-dramatic Lady Macbeth voice:

"_Alack, I am afraid they have awaked,_  
_And 'tis not done. The attempt and not the deed_  
_Confounds us. Hark! I laid their daggers ready;_  
_He could not miss 'em. Had he not resembled_  
_My father as he slept, I had done't._"

Anna stopped her dictation and frowned, straightening her back against the tree trunk as she looked carefully at the last word in the passage. "Wait, am I pronouncing that right? Is it just a funky way of saying 'done it', or would I pronounce it 'dunt'? I probably got it right the first time because 'dunt' just sounds plain _weird_, and maybe I'm not sounding evil enough—"

"You did just fine with it."

"What the—_ow_!" Anna whirled around so fast that she quite unceremoniously slammed her head into the tree trunk, causing her head to spin. "Owowowow..."

A gasp. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you..." The voice sounded familiar, but Anna had her eyes closed, and the pounding of her head and heart were distracting her from discerning just who the speaker was. "Are you okay?"

"Sure, sure, it's fine, I mean, _I'm_ fine," Anna assured, waving the worry away with one hand and rubbing her head with the other, blushing as she opened her eyes. "It's just me being my usual awkward—"

Anna stopped when her vision suddenly registered who it was, and the blush on her face was now a shade darker seeing as there was another factor involved aside from her embarrassment as her gaze rose to meet the eyes of the other, the opposing girl looking down at her with a bemused expression.

"E-Elsa!" Anna closed her eyes for another moment, for the moment grateful for her clumsiness. It gave her a few fractions of a second to think and pretend her head was still hurting—well, more than it actually was.

_Okay, stay calm, Anna. This is just a friendly conversation, so don't say something stupid. Be yourself_.

Satisfied with her momentary pep talk, Anna managed a smile. "What are you doing here?" _Shoot, I hope she doesn't think that sounded rude!_ "I mean, I'm just curious, I did _not_ mean that in a rude way, I swear—"

"Anna, slow down." the older girl chuckled as she held up a hand. Despite the firm tone of her voice, the small smile on Elsa's face was one of kindness. "I just heard you say you were going to the Gardens earlier to Kristoff and I wanted to make sure you were doing alright."

"Really?" Anna smiled up at the other girl in gratitude, touched at the concern but at the same time praying that she hadn't been caught singing. "Thanks, Elsa—oh, I'm sorry, do you wanna sit down?" Anna scooted over a little to the side of the tree trunk and patted the ground where she had been sitting. "It just seems kind of weird with me straining my neck up to look at you."

The senior girl chuckled lightly, placing her pile of books in the grass nearby and sitting down beside Anna. "You did pretty good reading those passages." She arched her brow, inquisitive. "You taking Shakespearian Lit?"

"Yeah." Trying to ignore the fact that the one sitting next to her was the one her brain kept telling her that she was absolutely head-over-heels for, Anna closed the book. "That's the class I have at 1:30, and we're supposed to do some read-alouds today."

"And I'm guessing you're reading for Lady Macbeth?"

"Uh huh," Anna confirmed with a nod. "It's pretty fun, though sometimes I'm not sure if I'm doing the Scottish accent right, even though I have a roommate who's Scottish so I feel like I _should_ get the accent right if I just kind of copy how she sounds."

_You're babbling again_, Anna's mind seemed to scold her.

The kind expression on Elsa's face caused Anna's own face to flush. The blush only grew as Elsa placed a hand on hers in comfort. "You do just fine with the accent."

"Whew," Anna muttered, looking at Elsa with a relieved expression, trying to just focus on the conversation at hand and not the fact that Elsa's smooth, soft hand was resting on top of hers. It took all her nerve to resist the urge to shift her hand so that it would intertwine with Elsa's. "Good, 'cause I thought if Merida heard me practicing she'd be laughing her _head_ off at me."

A slight smirk of amusement played across the other girl's lips. "Well, you sounded great to me."

Anna managed a smile. _ So far so good._

"So did your singing."

"Wait, what?!" Anna felt her blush deepen in response to Elsa's unexpected comment. _She heard my singing? She heard it and _liked_ it? Oh my gosh she liked my singing._

"You were singing 'Down By the Sally Gardens' a little while ago." Elsa looked carefully at the younger girl, a smile on her face that clearly expressed how impressed she was. "You really know how to put emotion in your voice... you sounded so sad..." She gave Anna's hand a squeeze that was light, barely noticeable, but it was a small gesture that Elsa figured the younger girl would appreciate.

Anna gulped, trying not to look too nervous, both from Elsa's words and from the light squeeze of her hand that she definitely had felt. Had Elsa guessed the reason _why_ she had been singing it with such sadness and despondent longing?

"You seemed like you wanted to be alone, so I came back after a little while to see if you were still here. I have to admit though..." There was an uncertain flicker in Elsa's eyes, almost as if she were... _shy_? "I felt a little disappointed that you weren't singing when I got back. You have a lovely voice."

"Th-Thank you..." Anna could swear that her face was about three shades darker as she glanced at the senior, whose ice-blue eyes looked straight into her teal ones. There was a questioning expression there, something on Elsa's mind. The redhead could hear her own heart pounding in her chest, able to tell that Elsa was going to ask her _something_. _Does she know? Has she guessed? Is she gonna ask—_

"Have you ever considered joining the Theater Club?"

"Huh?" Whatever Anna had expected, it wasn't that. While she was mostly relieved that the question hadn't been if she had a particular someone on her mind while singing the song, a part of Anna admitted that there was a twinge of disappointment there that she wanted to ignore. She hurriedly tried to save face "T-There's a Theater Club?"

"Sure, sign-ups just started this week, actually."

"S-Sure, I'd love to!" Anna exclaimed, a little too enthusiastically. She wanted to smack herself the moment she said it. _Crap, I said it too fast! I don't want her to think I'm being too forward or—wait, '_forward'_, that almost sounds like I want to get to know her more romantically, dang it! Stupid brain, just—_ Anna's inner monologue was halted and her consciousness jolted back to reality when she realized that Elsa was laughing, a hand in front of her mouth.

"Well, you're certainly enthusiastic about it." The sparkle in her eyes just about melted Anna's heart. "We need that kind of enthusiasm in the club. You might be able to bring a bit more energy to some _certain_ members of the group."

Anna joined in Elsa's laughter. She knew full well that it seemed that just about every class had at least one sour apple involved. Even in something that sounded as fun as a theater club appeared to be no exception.

"So maybe I can—" She was cut off by the sudden intrusive sound of her phone alarm going off, and she glanced at the time.

"1:20 already?!" Anna quickly got to her feet, once again causing more injury to her head as she collided with a tree branch. "Ow!" Anna placed both hands on the top of her head in reflex, wincing in pain. "Ugh, I guess I should have paid attention to what was above me... geez..."

Elsa winced in sympathy. "You okay?"

"I'll be fine," Anna muttered, her voice slightly strained as she stepped backward to get away from the branch. "As long as I don't get a concussion I'll be okay..."

"Think you can get to your class okay?"

"Sure." Anna forced a smile on her face as she leaned down again to pick up her books, trying to keep a smile on her face. "I really aprreciate—"

Another buzz from her phone.

"Shut up alarm!" Anna turned her alarm off and looked at Elsa apologetically. She wanted to stay and chat with Elsa, to really get to know her better. no matter how much of a fool she made out of herself But for now, alas, her academic duties were calling. "I-I'm sorry Elsa, I have to go. I'd better go, bye!" She walked backwards for a bit, waving to Elsa and taking in her appearance, still mentally taking in their conversation.

The platinum-blonde waved in return. "I'll put your name on the list for you!"

"When does the club meet?" Anna felt it was almost comical, the two calling to each other as she walked further and further away. All Anna felt she was missing was a megaphone.

"Friday nights at 7:30!" Elsa called back. "Sharp!"

"Tomorrow night at 7:30, got it! Thank you!"

"I'll be glad to see you there!"

It was after Elsa said this that Anna finally turned around after giving a final wave, turning to get to her class on time as she felt her head spin, and not just from having lost a battle with a tree twice.

The freshman sighed as the distance between her and Elsa grew. She actually felt rather surprised at how well she had handled that conversation. No extreme blushing, no embarrassing spilling of secrets, no motions that might have caused Elsa to feel uncomfortable... for being flustered upon Elsa's initial arrival, their conversation had actually gone better than she would have expected.

But one thought stuck out to her above all others: _Elsa _liked_ my singing. She wants me to be in her theater club. She said she'll be glad to see me there._

Even as she raced across the greenery, ignoring the sidewalks to get to her literature class as quickly as she could, Anna couldn't help thinking she had yet another reason to be excited for Fridays to arrive.

That is, assuming that she would be able to act without making a fool of herself around Elsa.

* * *

**A/N: I know, I know, it was pretty shortish, but hey, at least I got to include a little bit of fluff! Yes, there will be more indeed—more action, more fluff, and more story! **

**And to answer one reviewer's question... yes, I do now fully admit to having a "girl crush" on Elsa. **

**Remember to review! :)**


	3. Theatrics

**A.N: ... I think it would be useless to even TRY to deny it anymore. **

**Four weeks. For a period of nearly FOUR WEEKS (it'll be exactly four by early tomorrow morning) I've dreamed of her. Not every single night, but on and off, sometimes several nights in a row... Heeelllppp meeee...**

**Enough with this turning into a semi-blog about my undeniable feelings for Elsa that have caused me to question myself. Moving on! So, 2 chapters in and I already have 17 reviews, 25 favorites, and 68 follows (which is the most I've gotten for ANY story aside from my Portal fic _Sentience_, and that has 71 followers for 10 chapters)! Jeez this story is already pretty popular, and that's saying something considering this is my first Frozen story here and it was originally written as a one-shot! So, next chapter! **

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Frozen. Alas, I do not.**

* * *

Anna's levels of nervous were at least twice as high as they had been the day before. If anyone had asked her what was bothering her—and by 'anyone' she meant that the only person she'd trust was Kristoff—it was a multitude of things.

Anticipation at seeing Elsa again that night? Check.

Nervousness at the fact that she had had yet _another_ dream about the girl in question and they were becoming increasingly hard to ignore? Check.

Not wanting to admit she _enjoyed_ the feeling of being kissed by the platinum-blonde senior even if it was just a fantasy that her waking mind was disturbed by? Check, check, and _check_.

"I am a nutcase," she muttered to herself. She kept anxiously checking her phone, watching the minutes tick by, never having thought that what was essentially a weekend day would be moving as slow as molasses. "Somestimes it stinks not having something to do. Why have I never felt like I wanted something this badly to do on a _Friday?_"

"What are you so anxious about?" Kristoff chuckled. "I thought you didn't have classes today. Lucky girl."

Anna swallowed, trying to keep her thoughts together. "I don't, but I signed up for the theater club that Elsa's in and I have to be there tonight."

Kristoff arched his brow. "So I guess this means I'll see you there after my Economics seminar."

Anna glanced at him in surprise. "Wait, wait, _you_ signed up for it too?!"

Kristoff smiled, clearly amused by Anna's surprise. "You know I like music and acting even though it's not my major. Why do you seem so surprised?"

"I didn't know you knew," she admitted. Secretly, as childish and irrational as it seemed, Anna had thought that Elsa inviting her to join was something special, like it was a secret club only a few had ever heard of.

"She sent an email about it to the students anyway," Kristoff added at seeing the slight look of disappointment on Anna's face. "Didn't you see it?"

Oops. "No..." In truth, Anna hadn't checked her email since the first day she got to the college in the first place. _Some 'exclusive club' if everyone on the whole campus knows about it. I just hope that I haven't missed any important announcements._

"I honestly wonder why she told you personally. I mean, well..." Kristoff said as if it thought.

Anna arched her brow. Knowing the expression on her friend's face, he was going to make some sort of joke, or tease her about her stupid conflicting emotions. "What?"

"Don't you need to be able to actually _act_?"

"Hey, she liked my singing in the Gardens!"

Kristoff seemed to be fighting the urge to laugh. "Were you singing a love song?"

"Yes—but not like _that_! I mean, I sang a love song yeah, but I-I didn't sing it _to_ her, she just heard me and—" Anna instantly found herself babbling again, trying to save herself from further implications that Kristoff might tease her about.

"Admit it, you told us you were going to the Gardens because you were _totally_ hoping she'd hear you."

"I was not!" Anna could feel her face turning red from embarrassment the more Kristoff spoke as she looked away from him.

Kristoff crossed his arms with a smirk. "Then why did you say it just loud enough for the two of us to hear?"

She lightly punched his shoulder in retort. "Not helping, Kristoff. Look, I just—" She paused, holding both hands up in resignation as she slowly lowered them with a sigh, trying to calm down. "I'm just nervous about tonight, okay?"

"Because of being in a new club or because of Elsa specifically?"

Anna blushed at the mention of the other girl, cursing the heat rising to her cheeks. _Get it together, Anna! It's not a crush, it's not a crush. Well not a real crush. It's just a girl-crush, not a crush-crush._

Kristoff rolled his eyes good-naturedly. After looking around to make sure no one was within earshot, a sneaky grin plastered itself onto his face as he leaned closer to Anna, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Anna already had a feeling she knew what was coming—more good-natured teasing about her confusing feelings toward Elsa. While the subject matter was expected, however, Kristoff's words definitely were not.

"Is it because you're afraid you'll babble about those wet dreams of yours?"

Anna stopped short as if someone had pressed a Stop button on her, roughly swatting her friend's hand away as her face turned bright red, so much heat rising to her cheeks that she felt she could cook an egg on them. "Kristoff Bjorgman, that's _disgusting_! They are _not_ 'wet dreams!"'

"From what I've gathered, you've more-or-less done just about everything with her in the dreams that isn't sexual, so that seems like wet dream to me regardless," Kristoff pointed out as he lifted his hand from her shoulder to cross his arms. A curious expression crossed his face as he noticed Anna look away. Blushing more, wringing her hands, quickening the pace of her walk. Clearly there was something she wasn't telling him.

Oh geez, this was awkward to ask. "You, uh... didn't _do_ anything—"

Anna suddenly looked like a deer in headlights at the question and had to stop herself from screaming, grabbing Kristoff's shirt and bringing her face close to his, whispering frantically, her face even more red than it had been seconds before. Whether it was from irritation or embarrassment however, Kristoff couldn't tell at this point. "No I did _not_ do anything like _that_ with her in the dreams! Not even _close, _and you have a completely sick mind for thinking so!"

Her blond friend looked at her queerly, noticing the fact that she was trembling slightly. "But you hoped for it, right?"

"UGH! Get your mind out of the gutter!" Anna released her grip on Kristoff's shirt, but still was looking him in the eye. "All we did was cuddle and kiss!"

"And I thought you were completely against even _that_," Kristoff pointed out with an amused shake of his head. "Are you saying that all of a sudden you're enjoying it?

Anna was indignant. Was Kristoff still seriously trying to suggest that she wasn't straight? "I am not! I mean, I like it when I _sleep_, but—" She stopped short, slowly bringing a hand to her face and sighing before turning away. "Forget it, my emotions are _not_ in agreement with my brain right now."

Kristoff smirked. "Well, you better try to sort them out by tonight, feisty-pants."

Anna looked slightly nervous at that remark. "You mean because Elsa will be there?"

"No. Because you're going to be just as close to Elsa as you are to everyone else. And if someone sees you trying to make a move on her—"

"I-I would not!" Anna facepalmed, trying to hurry away. "I _don't_ have a crush on her, okay? We'll just do some nice, friendly, non-romantic chatting. Just... see you tonight."

Anna was barely aware of anything around her as she hurried away, pretty certain that Kristoff was chuckling behind her. _Great,_ she thought, _now Kristoff's probably going to be teasing me all throughout theater club if I try to even talk to Elsa. This just got a whole lot harder. _

However, if she hadn't been so absorbed in her own thoughts and frustration, she might have heard that Kristoff was saying something.

"A certain friend of hers wouldn't be too happy."

**-0-0-0- **

"Don't you think it's a little early to be going there on the first day?"

"Hey, fifteen minutes isn't too early."

"You're just hoping that you can get to talk to Elsa before anyone else gets there, right?"

Anna didn't respond and just continued her brisk walk to the Creative Arts building, the pathway illuminated more by the street lamps lining the walkway rather than the faint glint of the stars above them. The large square building, the exterior made up of bricks that were pained white, with large square windows on each side, was only about a ten minute walk from Anna's dorm building, closer to the far right edge of the campus. The walk felt to Anna like it was a good deal longer than ten minutes, though. Time was just not moving the way she hoped it would that day.

Kristoff, meanwhile, wasn't sure he had the heart to reiterate his statement from before. Sure, Anna may have a crush on Elsa—not just a girl-crush, no matter what she said—and be in denial about it, but as long as she could pass off as just a friend of Elsa's, things would be fine. Besides, maybe a certain someone wouldn't be there.

As the pair found out when they walked through the double doors, apparently 15 minutes wasn't enough to get some alone time with Elsa. The place was already packed with students who apparently had a similar idea.

Amidst the large area filled with black theater seats surrounding a polished wooden stage, students from all four years were conversing together. Some were standing around and chatting, some were lounging in the seats either reading or surfing the Net, some were climbing up onto the stage and acting out their own scenes, and the two were pretty sure they caught some talk about trying to see if it were possible to knock out a spotlight with minimal damage to the rest of the stage.

Anna's shoulders visibly slumped. _Darn it. Next time I'll come half an hour early. _Even if Kristoff wasn't there to watch, she clearly wouldn't be able to get much of a private conversation with Elsa now. Still, at least she was here. Now where was...

"What do ya know, look who it is," Kristoff said with a small grin. He slightly pointed to someone in the crowd, and Anna followed the path with her eyes. Amidst the crowd of people, a certain taller girl stood out among the crowd, appearing to look around at who was there more than striking up any conversations. She was wearing a sparkling blue long-sleeved shirt over a black skirt, her hair let down in a braid that hung gracefully over her right shoulder.

Anna tried not to stare. She thought that Elsa looked pretty enough in her normal jeans and T-shirt, but seemed that she wanted to go for a little extra glamour this time. The sparkling of the ice-blue shirt only seemed to accentuate her features.

She snapped out of her daze just in time to feel Kristoff's hands on her shoulders and hear him whisper. "Think you can talk to her without acting like a nervous girlfriend?"

"I'm _not_..." Anna trailed off with a sigh, not wanting to argue with Kristoff any further as she kept her focus straight on Elsa. "Yeah."

"Then go on, feisty-pants."

"But, Kristoff wait, I—_ah_!" Anna didn't finish as Kristoff lightly shoved her in Elsa's direction, and Anna had to quickly stop herself from either falling backward or crushing straight into Elsa. The moment Elsa turned to face her, Anna felt her throat tighten from nerves and preventing her from saying anything. Mental pep-talk time. .

_Okay, Kristoff's watching, you're here with Elsa. Play it cool. Show him you're straight as an arrow. _

"H-Hi!" Anna winced as her voice cracked, and she quickly tried to correct her embarrassing mistake. "I mean, hi, Elsa! Sorry for nearly, uh, crashing into you just now."

"It's fine Anna," Elsa said sincerely, with a gentle smile on her face that was already causing Anna to feel more nervous than she had been five seconds earlier. "I'm glad to see you here."

"I'm glad to be here!" Anna quickly grappled with her mind for something else to say that wasn't so abrupt before she got tongue-tied. "So, this is the theater group, huh?" Instantly she felt like facepalming the moment the words left her mouth. _Way to point out the obvious, idiot,_ Anna's mind scolded.

Elsa didn't seem to mind, as she merely placed her hand on Anna's shoulder, looking toward the rest of the group. "It's actually a bit more of a crowd than I was expecting, but considering the circumstances I suppose that's all the better for us."

"What do you mean, 'circumstances'?"

Elsa seemed like she was about to answer, but was cut off when a voice called out from the crowd.

"Hey, Elsa!"

One of the younger students, a freshman who Anna vaguely recognized from her Shakespearian Literature class, separated himself from the crowd of clamoring students and leapt over a few chairs to meet them. His black hair was short and scruffy, sticking up as if he had never seen a comb in his life, and his buck teeth gave him an appearance that caused him to appear younger than he actually was.

"Hey wait a minute! I know you, you're from my Shakespearian class! Anna, right?"

"Uh huh." Anna's mouth curled into a slight smile, glad that he somehow knew her name even though she didn't know his.

He immediately ran up to Anna and hugged her. "Hi, Anna! I'm Olaf! Any friend of Elsa's is a friend of mine!"

Anna laughed nervously, surprised at the sudden enthusiasm of the newcomer, not to mention how warmly he received her presence, as if he had known her all his life rather than just seeing her occasionally over the course of a few days, without even talking to him much.

Or maybe he _had_ tried to talk to her, but she was too busy daydreaming. It wouldn't be the first time such things had happened.

Elsa put a hand up to her mouth in amusement, gently nudging the energetic student away from Anna. "Don't mind my brother, he's just a hugger."

"Wait a second," Anna gasped, looking from Elsa to Olaf. "He's your _brother_?! But, but..." She looked back and forth again, particularly studying their hair and faces. "You two don't even really look alike!"

"Oh, I'm not her biological brother," Olaf explained, taking Anna's hand and swinging it excitedly. "We were really close as next-door neighbors growing up, so she called me her honorary little brother. Well actually, she _still_ does!" He grinned widely, in a way that looked cute rather than creepy. "And you did great with your Lady MacBeth reading yesterday, by the way!"

At hearing this, Elsa gently took Anna's hand and gave it a friendly squeeze, her gaze clearly expressing her congratulations. "I knew you could do it. Hearing you in the Gardens was proof enough of that."

Anna could feel heat rising to her face again at the compliments, and she glanced away shyly, telling herself that the blushing was from modesty toward the compliments and not the fact that Elsa was squeezing her hand. "Th-Thank you."

Any response was suddenly drowned out by a male voice singing Broadway-style from the center stage, voice rising above the chatter of some of the others as if he was purposely trying to draw attention to himself.

"_I am pretty, oh so pretty,_

_I am pretty and witty and briiiggghhttt! _

_And I pity, _

_Any guy who isn't me at night!_"

Anna turned her head to notice an auburban-haired student who was on the stage, one who she had only briefly glimpsed when she first came in but only right then got a good look at him, and he caught her eye almost immediately. He wore long jeans and a white and gold shirt that appeared almost regal. belting out the tune in a near-opraretic voice.

With Kristoff a bit of a distance away, Anna didn't notice the concerned look he sent in her direction. Providing Anna didn't let her concealed infatuation with Elsa slip, this had only a 20% chance of going badly. An 80% chance of it going well were pretty good odds.

"_I am charming, _

_Oh so charming. _

_It's alarming how charming I feeeeeell! _

_And so pretty, _

_That I hardly can believe I'm real!_"

Anna, meanwhile, had to resist the urge to burst out laughing at the singer's drama, oblivious to Kristoff's concern for the moment. True, the song was silly, and she recognized it even thought she had never seen _West Side Story_, but the singer had a nice voice, and even though she didn't want to admit it... this guy looked pretty darn gorgeous. About as gorgeous as Elsa—

_No. He can't be as gorgeous as Elsa—wait, what? No, no, no, I can't be thinking that way, I'm straight, dangit! At least I know I'm not lesbian. Ugh, stupid hormones!_

Elsa, meanwhile, was shaking her head in exasperation, as if quite accustomed to such behavior. "Typical."

Drifting in a haze between her thoughts and what was actually happening, Elsa's voice brought Anna back to reality. She turned her gaze from the singer on stage to her platinum-blonde friend, surprised at Elsa's reaction. "You know him?"

Elsa nodded. "His name's Hans Westergard, a junior. I met him two years ago when he first showed up, and when he wasn't asking questions about the campus, he was trying to show off his singing voice the entire time."

Anna giggled. He certainly seemed the type.

"He's nice though once you really get to know him... We kind of have a thing going," Elsa said quietly, not looking directly at the girl beside her as if she were nervous to admit it.

Anna suddenly froze, her teal eyes widening very slightly and her mind feeling as if time was slowing down. She didn't want to admit it, but it seemed for a moment as if all she were aware of were Elsa's words, and not in the good way. "You two..." Anna could feel her throat going dry as she tried not to swallow. "You're together? Like, 'together' together'?"

"Yeah. We've been going out for about a month now."

"Oh..."

At hearing those words, Anna felt her heart sink. To her this was like getting subtly friend-zoned. _She's going out with_ him_?_ _Of course, I should have expected someone as wonderful and gorgeous as her would already have a boyfriend, especially since she's a senior! I guess this means she's straight after all, and I'd never have a chance with her... wait, what the heck am I _thinking_?!_ Her brain had gone back to warring with her for and against her feelings of jealousy toward Hans no matter how attractive he was, all leading back to her constant mental debate of "girl-crush versus actual crush" in regards to Elsa.

_Great, not only am I still trying to convince myself I'm straight, the one guy I think here who's gorgeous happens to be dating the _girl_ I think is gorgeous. Not my day._

Jolting herself out of her mental battle, she turned more directly to Elsa, trying to keep her expression steady and not letting any of her conflicting emotions show. "Maybe, uh, maybe I could meet him?" She hoped her smile didn't seem too forced. The least she could do was hopefully get to be this guy's friend—if love was out of the question for either one, friendship was the next best thing.

A small smile crossed Elsa's face. "I'd be happy to introduce you." She quickly walked over to the side of the stage and ascended the stairs with Anna in tow, reaching the stage just as Hans finished the last note of the famous _West Side Story_ song. "Hans! I have a friend I want you to meet!"

Hans turned around at the voice, his face seeming to light up the moment he saw the pair, sauntering over as if he owned the place. "It'd better not be a new boy friend of yours who tries to be your boyfriend. He'd have me to contend with!" He chuckled upon seeing Anna. "So who's this, Snowflake?"

_Snowflake_? Anna felt her stomach twist into a knot. She somehow didn't like the fact that Hans called Elsa, "Snowflake", as if fate was cruelly trying to rub it on her face that the two seniors were apparently a couple. Maybe it really _was_ jealousy. Her problem was that it was jealousy both ways—at least if she really wasn't straight and Elsa rejected her—as horrible as that would be—Hans seemed nice enough. No chance of that now seeing as the two of them were actually together.

"Hans, this is Anna Summers," Elsa explained, gesturing to the other with a wave of her hand. "Anna, Hans."

"_The_ Anna Summers?"

"Wait, what?" Anna was utterly confounded at hearing her name spoken as if she were a celebrity.

Hans smiled warmly, lifting Anna's hand and planting a kiss on it, which caused the girl to blush in spite of herself, only serving to confuse her emotions even more. "So _you're_ the bouncy chocolate-loving girl Elsa showed around at orientation that I've heard so much about?"

Anna laughed, both embarrassed and secretly touched that Elsa had mentioned her to Hans, apparently a lot. "You told him? Uh I-I mean, y-yeah, that's me."

_Good job, Anna, now you have _two_ people to stammer at and make a fool of yourself in front of. And they're together. Great first impression. Way to go._

Hans seemed like was about to respond, but a loud and sudden opening of the double doors caused him and everyone else to turn toward the doors in question.

"Well _hello_ everyone! I thought almost all of you would be stragglers, but it seems you all decided to prove me wrong and get here before me!"

The man who entered was tall, taller than Elsa, and the green hat on top of his head only appeared to give him a few extra inches in height. He wore a blue trenchcoat over a teal shirt and light green pants. His black cane, which he swung around quite erratically, was a sharp contrast to his bright orange hair that rivaled Hans' color. His somewhat eccentric movements nearly tore the paper he was carrying which appeared to be a student roster with the names and pictures of everyone who had signed up.

The newcomer's jovial manner was a bit surprising to Anna, as she turned and whispered to Elsa. "Who's that?"

"I am Professor J. Worthington Foulfellow," the man announced before Elsa could get a word in, glancing around at all the students as if evaluating each one with merely a look of his eyes.

"I'd hate to have that name," Anna whispered as she leaned over to Elsa and Hans. "I'd change it as soon as I could."

Elsa giggled. Anna noticed Hans grin as well beside the blonde and Kristoff near the edge of the stage gave her a thumbs up. _Did I just say something funny without totally looking dumb? Score one for me!_

"But everyone calls me Honest John. I'll be the primary theater instructor."

Anna cleared her throat and raised her hand. "Um, excuse me."

Honest John turned to look up at Anna. "Ah, you're one of the freshmen, I take it? Haven't seen you around here before."

She nodded, a little nervously, trying to focus on the instructor's words and not her brain's constant warring.

"Right then, what's your question? Wait," he paused, clapping his hands, "can anyone turn on the spotlight to shine it on this young woman? Anyone who has a question deserves full attention—"

Anna's eyes went wide. She was more than a little startled at suddenly being put on the spot, especially with both Elsa and Hans right near her. "Oh, nonono, you don't need to do that, I just, uh..." She cleared her throat again, starting over. "Well, I thought El—I thought this club was student-run?"

"Well, Miss Andersen here," the professor said, gesturing to Elsa on the stage, who looked a little embarrassed at now being the center of attention herself, "had the idea to start this club in the first place, a year ago when she approached me about it. But we wouldn't want any sort of student-run bias that might result if a student did make all the decisions, now, would we? Like having the director make themselves the lead part in a play and choose their best friends to get all the good parts."

Elsa smiled briefly at Hans, then shot a small grin in Anna's direction.

Anna grinned sheepishly back. Having had a lot on her mind already, her mind began to swim with new thoughts. _She just smiled at me even though she smiled at Hans first. Did she just grin at me because she considers me one of her best friends? I only just met her a few days ago! No, _bad_ Anna, don't think anything of it, we're just friends!_

"Besides," continued Honest John, "this isn't so much a 'club' as it's more of a test."

"You mean we have to take a _test_?" complained one of the other students, a senior named Eugene. "What kind of theater club is this?"

A girl beside him with short brown hair—who Anna instantly recognized as her cousin, Rapunzel—rolled her eyes. "Eugene, I don't think it's that kind of test."

"It'd better not be," Eugene muttered.

Anna arched her brow. She knew that Eugene didn't really sing much, if at all, from what Rapunzel had said to her before in person and through text. Likely he was one of the uncooperative ones who Elsa mentioned. She leaned over to Elsa quickly. "How did you know there'd be some grumps in this club if it just started today?"

"There always are," Elsa whispered back. "Also Eugene was complaining about it two days ago when Rapunzel signed him up."

"What I mean," the professor continued, not seeming to be bothered at all by Eugene's comment, "is that seeing that this college doesn't quite have a course that just focuses on performing musical theater, this is more of a test run of it." He surveyed the group of roughly 20 students. "Seeing how many students signed up here, I think we'll be able to schedule this officially as a course come next semester!"

That must have been the 'circumstances' Elsa had been speaking of.

"You're saying we're going to about the same amount of work in a full-credit course and not get any credit at all?" Eugene flopped down into one of the black plastic chairs, much to the amusement of some of the others. "What a rip-off!"

"Eugene..." Rapunzel chided.

"You didn't let me finish, dear boy!" Honest John seemed to reach Eugene faster than Anna could blink twice, resting the hook of his cane so it was slightly tucked in the sleeve of the young man's blue-green vest. "If all goes well and good, everyone who participates will indeed be able to get course credit, and will help make this a permanent edition to our selection of courses!" The director got to his feet, having the attention of everyone in the room. "And in a sense, the theatrical performances that you all partake in will shape the very foundation of what the course will come to be!"

That statement seemed to catch everyone's attention even more than his erratic behavior. Any chatter between the students amongst themselves had stopped.

"So you're saying if we decided to do, say, Broadway performances," a bright red-haired girl questioned, "then this could be class that focuses on Broadway?"

"Exactly, Ariel!" the instructor said with a twirl of his cane after glancing down at the list. "And Broadway-style productions are just one of the things I was hoping to do!"

Anna's eyes lit up at the mention of Broadway, and she was practically jumping up and down, much to Elsa's amusement. "Can we do _Wicked_?" she called out excitedly, waving her hand similar to an eager child in spite of herself. "I love that one!"

"I vote for _The Lion King!_" Olaf said with an excited bounce.

"_Phantom of the Opera_ would be cool," a young man with long blonde hair pointed out.

"You'd be perfect for Raoul, Adam."

"Belle, that was in the 2004 movie!"

"Let's get Bjorgman to be Raoul!"

"Hey!" Kristoff snapped at the red-shirted, muscular man who had made the comment. "I resent that remark!"

"Give him a break, Gaston. Let's do _Jesus Christ Superstar, _that's an Andrew Lloyd Webber play."

"I'd rather do _Rent_."

"Nah, how about _Avenue Q_?"

"We could never take our younger siblings to that one!"

"_Spring Awakening_?"

"That one's almost worse!"

"_The Book of Mormon_?"

Everyone was soon calling out names of Broadway plays, arguing what to do or not do, until Honest John finally clapped his hands for silence. "Calm down, everyone! You'll all get your chance on the stage, but it's not _just_ going to be Broadway plays we're doing. After all, that's not just what theater is about, am I right?"

"Right!" exclaimed a few of the students, Anna included, with murmurs of agreement from the others.

Honest John grinned and raised his voice, as well as his cane. "I said, am I right?"

"Right!" everyone finally chorused in unison.

"There we go! Alright, now everyone line up on stage right so that you can all get your turn to sing on stage, according to last name—"

Everyone started to scramble to their places.

"—in _reverse_ order."

"Does this mean we all have to listen to 'I Am Pretty' again?" Eugene asked as he looked over at Hans Westergard.

Everyone laughed.

For the rest of the session, everyone got their turn on the stage, with varying degrees of success. Anna performed "Down by the Sally Gardens" with some encouragement from Elsa, and Elsa herself, last in the line-up, belted out a wonderful rendition of "Defying Gravity" that left everyone spellbound,

Anna included, of course. Her certainty that she was straight dropped a good number of percentage points.

"Excellent work, everyone, _wonderful_!" Honest John exclaimed, clapping even as the students were beginning to exit. "Such passion and emotion from so many of you, perfect for the theater! We'll be doing all kinds of theater work here—Broadway, Shakespearian, make-your-own, sky's the limit! We'll improvise! Make it up as we go along! There's only so much time and so little to do—strike that, reverse it."

Anna let out a small but high-pitched squee at the _Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory_ quote, thankful that the only ones who really heard were Hans, Kristoff, and Elsa. "I think this guy just became my favorite professor in this college."

Elsa chuckled. "He's been my drama teacher through most of my years here, I think you're going to definitely like him."

"I like him already," Anna exclaimed with an eager little bounce. She twirled around with a small leap into the air. "This club already is amazing! _You're_ amazing!" Her face went red as she realized what she had just said, especially since Hans was there as well. "I-I mean, the way you _sang_, Elsa, it was just, _wow_!"

"Thank you." Elsa's face had a slight blush to it as well, faint compared to what Anna's had been, but still there.

"A-And you did great with your song too, Hans!" Anna was stammering and she knew it, but she was trying her best to not be such a tongue-tied crush. "Both of you were both just, wow, good!"

_Okay, Freshman Year Resolution,_ Anna mentally vowed to herself. _Stop being so awkward and babble-y and saying things before you think!_

After a moment, Hans spoke when he was certain that he could get a word in through Anna's rapid speech. "Hey Anna, you said you like _Wicked_, right?"

"Uh huh!" With a really nervous grin, Anna crouched down and leapt up a little higher, knowing she probably looked silly but she didn't care as she began to sing in an over-dramatic way, a sharp contrast to when she sang "Sally Gardens". "_I'm flying high, defyyying gravityyy!_"

"Maybe you could be Glinda if we do that one," Hans pointed out. "You seem to have the right bounciness for it."

Elsa's eyes met Anna's as much as she could when the redhead was bouncing excitedly. "You certainly look adorable bouncing up and down like that."

"I-I _what_?" Anna stammered, caught off guard by the statement and trying (and failing) not to stumble with both Elsa and Hans watching as she stopped bouncing.

Elsa chuckled at the other girl's reaction. "I said you look adorable doing that."

Attempting to maintain what composure she had and be less embarrassing without acting like a lovesick puppy, Anna managed an answer as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Um, uh, thanks, Elsa!"

"No problem, Anna."

A light cough from behind Anna and Elsa caused them to turn as Hans held out his hand to Elsa. "Ready to head out?"

Elsa paused, her eyes flickering briefly to Anna, then to Hans. "Yeah." Placing her hand in Hans' (a motion which caused Anna to feel a twinge of jealousy), Elsa glanced back over toward Anna. "See you later, Anna."

"R-Right!" Anna managed a small little wave, a smile creeping up on her face even through her jealousy. "See ya!"

Elsa's gaze seemed to flicker downward from the stage just as she and Hans started to step down. She chuckled, her eyes reflecting her amusement. "Oh, and Kristoff? If you're going to eavesdrop, try harder."

Kristoff scowled good-naturedly from beneath the stage. "Darn it."

It was only after Elsa and Hans left and the door closed that Anna looked like she was about to say something more, only managing to voice her thought when Kristoff stood just below the edge of the stage. He let out a slow whistle, as if he were impressed.

"... Was I hearing things, or did Elsa say _you_ were adorable?"

Anna nodded dully, swearing that her heartbeat had sped up slightly as she struggled to talk without sounding as if her throat had tightened. "Elsa said I was adorable." She glanced toward Kristoff and noticed the smirk on his face as she leapt down from the stage. "What?"

"You're thinking or hoping she likes you."

"I am not!" Anna insisted, crossing her arms and turning away from her friend even though her blush instantly betrayed her.

"You'd better be careful though," Kristoff added, no longer sounding as if he were teasing. "Hans is kinda... protective of her."

"Exactly," Anna sighed, her happy mood deflating a little. "She's with Hans, why should I think that I'd have a chance if I wasn't straight?"

"Well," Kristoff started, trying to cheer her up, "she _did_ say you were adorable."

"I just liked the compliment!"

"Then how come when _I_ give you that compliment you make a witty retort and _don't_ blush out of embarrassment?"

"Because you're _you_ and Elsa is, well... _Elsa_."

"I heard that dreamy sigh—"

"Kristoff!"

The two walked back to their respective college houses, Anna using her key to unlock the door and tiredly entered the room, flopping onto her bed the moment the door shut behind her.

Merida turned the moment Anna walked in the door, powering down her laptop and placing it in its charger for the night. "Well, _someone_ sure looks like she had fun."

"Uh huh," Anna yawned, rubbing her eyes and slowly getting up to check her phone.

"Ya look like you're about to collapse and then you go and check your phone?" Merida asked skeptically. "You're not gonna get back to sleep too easily."

"I'm just checking my email," Anna muttered, scrolling through to click the general student welcoming messages, an announcement about bagels that day, the email detailing the Theater Club sign-ups... all stuff that she knew by now or thought was inbox clutter she didn't really need to know.

With that, Anna logged out of her email and forced herself to move so that she could properly get ready for bed, trying to process everything from her first session at Theater Club as much as her tired brain could focus on right now. Thinking about the plays they might perform. About the fact that Elsa was there. That Hans and Elsa seemed to be together. That Elsa had called her adorable. That she was beginning to doubt herself more and more even though she was still trying to insist to herself that she was straight.

Had Anna checked her email once more that night, she would have seen that one new email had been sent to her one minute after she had logged off.

An email from Elsa.

* * *

**A/N: Geez, this chapter ended up being WAY longer than I anticipated! Apologies for this chapter taking a while to get up, I was busy with classes, plus I wanted it to be good. :) So yup, Hans, Olaf, and other Disney characters are going to be in this, as now that I've established it's not going to be a one-shot I finally have a reasonably-full plan in my head for this. I'm also actually surprised that it took me awhile to think of Honest John being the theater instructor, considering his "An Actor's Life For Me" song he should have been the first on my list. XD And don't worry people, this is not going to turn into a Helsa fic (especially because it's my least favorite pairing), strictly Elsanna focused. :) **

**Fun trivia: aside from the two Andrew Lloyd Webber plays, all the Broadway plays I mentioned are connected to Frozen in some way or another. ;) Also, why did I introduce Hans through him singing "I Am Pretty" Because that was the song that Hans. voice actor auditioned for Hans with. XD**

**Also, as a note of interest, I am considering making a Tumblr Ask Blog for Anna in this continuity. While I'm still trying to think of a name for it, and it will be primarily a text-based blog (since my drawings leave a lot to be desired), I want to explore a bit more with Anna's character in this 'verse, and the blog will progress as the fic does. :) Besides, Ask Blogs are fun! :D**

**And kind of like Anna... I think considering how often I've had the dreams... I think maybe my "girl crush" on Elsa is more than just a girl crush... O_o **

**Anyway, remember to review, fave, follow, give Tumblr ideas, whatever! :)**


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